MADRID, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Valencia's Argentine international defender Roberto Ayala says he is making a good recovery from knee surgery and believes he will be able to return to action for the club in March.

'I'm feeling good and more relaxed after the operation
because it showed that the knee was in good shape,' the
32-year-old centre back told a news conference on Tuesday.

'They cleaned out what was causing me the pain and I'm
making excellent progress. I don't want to put myself under
pressure but I think that I should be available for selection in
March.'

Ayala, who is a fixture in Jose Pekerman's Argentina squad,
said that his number one priority was to recover his form for
his club and that he was not thinking about his return to the
national side.

'I'm very upset about not playing especially as the team
(Valencia) have improved. I'm not thinking about the World Cup,
but rather about playing and performing well for the club.'

After making a shaky start to the season, Valencia are in
third place in the Primera Liga, six points behind Osasuna and
10 adrift of leaders Barcelona.